MESA, Ariz. – At the moment, the most enouraging number on the back of Kaleb Cowart’s baseball card is his age.

That sums up the state of the 22-year-old’s development.

After a second consecutive disappointing season, the one-time No. 1 Angels prospect has given the organization little in the way of the offensive production he needs to reach his potential as a major leaguer.

Things have been so rough that Cowart has abandoned switch-hitting, for now, and he and the organization have discussed another even more radical change: abandoning hitting entirely.

While a move to the mound has been discussed for the strong-armed third baseman, they aren’t ready to do that because of that one encouraging number.

He’s still just 22.

“Some guys just take a little longer than other guys,” Cowart said last week, just before finishing off his Arizona Fall League season with a .185 average. “Not everyone can be Mike Trout and fly through the minors.”

Even if Cowart returns for a third season in the Double-A Texas League, he’ll still be slightly below the average age for that league.

The clock, however, is ticking louder.

By Thursday, the Angels will need to commit a precious 40-man roster spot to Cowart or risk losing him in the Rule 5 draft. Whatever they do will be a significant milestone in his development.

If they do add him, as expected, it will not only be an endorsement that they still believe in him, but it will mean that in 2015 he will use up the first of his three option years.

The Angels could leave Cowart unprotected because it’s unlikely another team would draft him. Rule 5 draft picks have to stay in the majors all season to be kept. If Cowart were to be unprotected, though, it would be a telling sign for how his development has stalled 41/2 years after he was drafted.

“It’s been a struggle for him since he got to Double A,” Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “Double A is often considered the great separator in terms of development, and Kaleb is caught up in the Double A meat grinder.”

Until Cowart’s progress derailed at Arkansas, he was on the fast track to the majors. The No. 18 overall pick in 2010, at the age of 17, Cowart had two good short-seasons and then hit .276 at two levels of Class-A in his first full season in 2012. He also made a strong impression in his first spring training, in 2013, and was generally considered the organization’s top prospect.

Since then, though, Cowart has posted almost identical seasons at Double A. He hit a combined .222, with six homers in each season. He did cut his strikeouts from 124 to 99 this season, but there was not much else positive from what he did at the plate.

“You’ll see a seven- to 10-day stretch where he looks fantastic, and then you see a stretch where he doesn’t,” Dipoto said.

In July, Cowart gave up on being a switch-hitter to hit left-handed exclusively. He had only 15 at-bats against left-handed pitchers as a left-handed batter, and he managed two hits. He continued hitting left-handed in the AFL, and he was encouraged.

“It feels good so far,” he said. “There’s less to worry about, with one swing instead of two. I’m just able to repeat better and be a more consistent player.”

Cowart said he feels he’s a left-handed hitter permanently, but Dipoto isn’t so sure.

“As far as I understand it, this is a test drive,” Dipoto said. “He hasn’t gone out in a competitive environment for a full season as a left-handed hitter. I have seen guys do it and when it doesn’t work very quickly, they tend to go back to the security blanket. Until we know we are beyond that hurdle, it is what it is. He’s still capable of switch-hitting.”

If Cowart does hit exclusively left-handed in 2015, and the results don’t improve, then he may try something even more dramatic. When the Angels drafted Cowart as an infielder, other teams had their eyes on him as a pitcher. As his offense has failed to come around, the Angels and Cowart have discussed the possibility of moving to the mound.

“I don’t think I’m there yet,” Cowart yet. “Maybe after next year sometime. Right now I’m still hitting.”

Dipoto agrees. The Angels are still high on Cowart’s defense, his attitude and work ethic. Those positives, along with his age, allow them to remain patient with his bat.

“There is still so much upside to what he does as a hitter,” he said. “A switch-hitter with power who can play defense on the corner, who has shown ability, if just in streaks, to do what corner bats do. We’re going to be patient and let it play itself out. Waiting a little longer is not the worst outcome.”

After all, he is just 22.

NARRON HIRED AT TRIPLE-A

The Angels hired Johnny Narron, who was Josh Hamilton’s accountability coach in Texas, to be their Triple-A hitting coach.

Narron will be with the major league team in spring training, but not during the regular season.

Hamilton, who has had well-chornicled issued with drugs and alcohol, had an accountability coach with Texas to help him stay clean. Shayne Kelley did the job during Hamilton’s last year in Texas and his first year with the Angels, but last season Hamilton did not have anyone employed by the team to serve in that role.

Narron, who also served as an assistant hitting coach when he was with in Hamilton in Texas, spent the past three seasons as the Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach.

Fans who donate three cans of non-perishable food will be allowed to take a swing against a pitching machine on the field at Angel Stadium, up to a maximum of 20 swings. Two cans earns a fan the chance to throw a pitch in the bullpen. Cash donations are also accepted for the on-field experiences.

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